To the editor:

I do feel compelled to write, because I know a man who has worked so hard for southern Missouri and has always been a people person. It would make no difference to him if you were a Democrat or a Republican. If you need him, he is always there. That man is Tony Heckemeyer. I was in the delivery room when his daughter, Sarah, was born. And I watched the tears of joy roll down his cheeks. What he has given to Scott County and to all of southern Missouri has not been done in a van, but hands on hands. Tony is not riding in on someone's coattails. I do not have the money to contribute, but I can tell the voters what I know, and that is that Tony Heckemeyer would be for the people like you and like me who are not always heard. I would trust this God-fearing man to speak for me.

SHIRLEY DONZE

Sikeston